Gone

New Family

"I don't care if you don't want to go, Annabelle! You have to! They're our family now."

"You say that like I care, mom."

"Well, you should. Maybe you'll stop being antisocial and finally make some friends."

"And you say that as if I try to be."

"Just put your shoes on. We're late as it is."

Annabelle slipped on her boots begrudgingly. She didn't care if they were family now. She didn't like meeting new people. Like it or not, her aunt was getting remarried and she had to go meet her new family members. The one small act of defiance that she could manage was wearing the shoes her mom hated.

"Of all the- you know what? We don't have time. Get in the car," her mom complained. Annabelle smirked, happy with her little victory, and marched proudly out to the car.

"I'm driving!"

"Annabelle, no! You just got your license last week!"

~~~~~~

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, aunt Dee. I just need some air. There's a lot of people in here," Annabelle chuckled nervously and excused herself from the house. She waded through the crowds of people stuffed into the house, and eventually found herself alone on the back balcony. The fresh air hit her with a cold breeze that almost instantly relieved her claustrophobia.

The sliding glass door behind her opened slowly and she sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds here, but I just wanted to check and see if you're okay because you don't really seem to be..." It was a voice she hadn't heard before. It was as a younger voice, that seemed to belong to a boy. Not a child, but a teenager. Great. Mom probably sent him out here to make friends with me.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just needed some air, I guess," she mumbled through her hands.

"I know this probably sounds stupid, people usually laugh when I say this, but I know some breathing tricks to help if you're anxious."

"I take it you get anxious often then?"

"Not really. I just like being able to help people when I can."

"That seems to be a rare quality these days." She turned around to finally face him. He looked like he was her age, but she wasn't quite sure. "So, how do you fit into this whole mess?"

"Assuming you're on Dee's side, best way I can put it is that I'm one of her new stepsons. I'm Mark," he explained, putting his hands in his pockets somewhat awkwardly.

"That makes me your step-cousin then. I'm Annabelle. Do you go to Milford High by random chance? We just moved here from LA so I'm transferring there, and I don't exactly have any friends so..." she looked at the cracks in the wooden deck in an attempt to avoid eye contact. She was embarrassed to admit that she had no friends.

"I do, actually. I could totally show you around. You're transferring next semester, right?" She nodded, looking back up at him.

"What's your grad year, by the way?" she asked.

"I'm a sophomore, so '08."

"Oh good, me too. We'll probably be on the same track then, huh?"

"Probably. You're gonna be at the wedding, right?"

"Yea. Guess I sorta have to go."

"If it makes it more compelling, you'll get to see me embarrass myself doing karaoke."

She laughed a bit, but it was a genuine laugh, not like the fake ones she had been forcing for years. There was an energy about him that just made her feel... happy for once. That never happened to her.

"I like your shoes, by the way. They're very goth," Mark commented. Annabelle looked down at the black, lace-up heels she was wearing and smiled.

"Thanks. I think I should go back inside. I'm getting kinda hungry."

"I can show you where they hide the junk food."

"Oh my god, yes. Let's go."

She really wasn't trying to make friends, but like it or not, a friend found her.